Chapter 16: The Note No One Was Meant to See
1008 Words
Isabella folded the tiny note so quickly that no one noticed.
Or at least...
She hoped no one had.
Her heart pounded against her ribs.
Don't trust Detective Harris.
Four simple words.
Four words capable of destroying the fragile alliance they had just formed.
She slipped the paper into the sleeve of her cardigan before quietly looking around the hospital room.
Alexander remained focused on the photograph of Lily.
His fingers gently traced the little girl's smiling face.
His eyes glistened.
Five years.
Five birthdays.
Five Christmas mornings spent wondering whether she was alive.
And now...
For the first time...
He had proof.
"I found you..."
His voice cracked.
"I finally found you."
Isabella had never seen a man look so relieved and so devastated at the same time.
She wanted to hug him.
To tell him everything would be okay.
But she couldn't.
Not when the note still burned in her mind.
---
Detective Harris stepped closer.
"May I see the photograph?"
Alexander handed it over without hesitation.
The detective examined every corner carefully.
"The paper is expensive."
He flipped it over.
"The ink is fresh."
He looked toward Ethan.
"When was this delivered?"
"The nurse said only a few minutes ago."
Harris frowned.
"So someone knows exactly where Alexander is."
Ethan's face darkened.
"That means we've got another leak."
"Inside the hospital."
The detective nodded.
"I'll lock this floor down."
As Harris walked toward the door to issue instructions, Isabella quietly watched him.
Every movement.
Every expression.
Nothing about him looked suspicious.
He genuinely seemed determined to protect Alexander.
So why would someone warn her against him?
---
After the detective left, Martha closed the hospital room door.
The atmosphere immediately changed.
Alexander placed the photograph beside his bed.
Then looked toward Ethan.
"Tell me everything."
Ethan nodded.
"After the mansion exploded, our cyber team recovered one thing."
"What?"
"A partial backup."
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
"I thought everything was destroyed."
"So did we."
Ethan pulled a small encrypted hard drive from his pocket.
"It survived because it was stored on an off-site server."
Alexander carefully took it.
"What's on it?"
"We haven't been able to open it."
"Why not?"
"It only responds to your biometric authentication."
Alexander looked toward Isabella.
"Good."
Ethan looked confused.
"Good?"
"If Victor had opened it..."
"He'd already know."
Alexander placed the drive on the bedside table.
"We'll access it later."
---
Hours passed.
Outside the hospital room, police officers guarded every entrance.
Reporters crowded the building.
Television channels broadcast nonstop updates.
Inside...
Alexander finally drifted into a light sleep.
The pain medication had begun taking effect.
For the first time since Isabella had met him...
His face looked peaceful.
She quietly pulled a chair beside his bed.
Martha smiled softly.
"You should rest."
"I'm not tired."
"You've barely slept."
"I'll sleep later."
Martha looked at Alexander.
"Do you know..."
"He never sleeps deeply."
Isabella frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"For five years..."
"He wakes up every night."
"The same time."
"What time?"
"9:17."
Isabella remembered.
The exact moment Sophia and Lily disappeared.
Her heart ached.
Even in sleep...
Alexander couldn't escape that night.
---
Just after midnight...
Alexander suddenly began breathing heavily.
His fingers tightened around the blanket.
"No..."
He whispered.
"No..."
Sweat covered his forehead.
He was dreaming.
"No!"
His eyes remained closed.
"Lily!"
"Run!"
Isabella immediately stood.
"Alexander."
He didn't hear her.
"They're inside..."
"They found us..."
"Sophia!"
His entire body tensed.
"Don't take my daughter!"
Without thinking...
Isabella gently held his hand.
"It's okay."
"You're safe."
"I'm here."
Slowly...
His breathing began to calm.
His grip relaxed.
Even asleep...
He instinctively held her hand.
Martha quietly wiped away a tear.
"He hasn't calmed down during a nightmare in five years."
---
Early the next morning...
A soft knock came at the door.
Not the police.
Not a nurse.
A young delivery boy stood outside carrying a fresh bouquet of white lilies.
"They're for Mrs. Knight."
Isabella looked surprised.
"For me?"
The boy nodded.
"There wasn't a name."
He handed her the flowers and left.
The moment the door closed...
Ethan frowned.
"Don't touch them."
"What?"
He carefully examined the bouquet.
Tucked deep between the flowers...
Was another envelope.
Alexander had awakened just in time to see it.
He immediately stood despite the pain.
"It's from Victor."
Ethan slowly opened it.
Inside...
There was another photograph.
Lily.
This time she stood beside a small lake.
She looked happy.
Healthy.
But something else caught Alexander's attention.
He snatched the photograph.
His eyes widened.
"The background..."
"What about it?" Isabella asked.
"I know this place."
"You do?"
Alexander nodded slowly.
"It's impossible..."
He turned the picture toward them.
"That's Blackwood Lake."
Ethan frowned.
"The old Knight family estate?"
Alexander nodded.
"It was abandoned twenty years ago."
"Victor used to love going there as a child."
Hope flashed across Ethan's face.
"So Lily's there?"
Alexander remained silent.
Then slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
He pointed toward the shadow beneath a tree.
"Look carefully."
Everyone leaned closer.
Hidden in the reflection on the lake...
Was the silhouette of a man holding a camera.
Alexander's expression became serious.
"This picture wasn't taken yesterday."
"It was taken..."
He zoomed in on a weathered sign near the lake.
"...three years ago."
Silence.
Victor had been sending old photographs.
Lily might not be there anymore.
The realization hit Alexander like another knife wound.
Then Ethan noticed something else.
"Sir..."
Alexander looked.
Near the bottom-right corner of the photograph...
Barely visible...
Were tiny numbers.
21.06.17
Not a date.
Coordinates.
Alexander immediately recognized them.
His breathing stopped.
"No..."
"What is it?" Isabella asked.
Alexander looked up.
"It's not a photograph."
"It's a map."
"A map to where?"
He swallowed.
"To the place where Sophia died."
Before anyone could react...
Every light in the hospital room suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
The backup generators failed.
Emergency alarms began blaring throughout the hospital.
Then...
A single gunshot echoed from the hallway.
BANG!
Someone screamed.
Footsteps raced toward Alexander's room.
The door handle slowly began turning.
To Be Continued...
- Writer
